New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the nation at 8 PM today, marking his first public statement since the ceasefire was declared following four days of hostilities from Pakistan in the wake of Operation Sindoor.
Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 in direct response to the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22.
The attack claimed 26 lives, including 24 Indian tourists, one tourist from Nepal, and a local pony handler. The victims were reportedly shot at close range after the attackers carried out religious profiling. The pony handler was killed while trying to protect one of the tourists.
A Pakistan-based proxy of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack. Investigations revealed that three of the five gunmen involved were Pakistani nationals. As national outrage intensified, the Indian government initiated a series of strong diplomatic measures, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, cancelling visas of Pakistani nationals, and closing the Attari border crossing.
On May 7, India carried out precision strikes targeting terrorist infrastructure across nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The operations destroyed the headquarters of both Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Approximately 100 terrorists were killed, including individuals linked to the 2019 Pulwama attack and the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC 814.
Among those killed were five high-value operatives: Mudassar Khadian Khas and Khalid alias Abu Akasha of Lashkar-e-Taiba; and Mohammed Yusuf Azhar, Hafiz Mohammed Jaleel, and Mohammad Hassan Khan of Jaish-e-Mohammed. Mohammed Yusuf Azhar, a key figure in Jaish and the brother-in-law of its founder Masood Azhar, was a wanted fugitive for his role in the IC 814 hijacking. He was one of the masterminds behind diverting the plane to Kandahar, Afghanistan—an incident that resulted in the release of Masood Azhar from Indian custody.
In response to India’s strikes, Pakistan launched a series of drone and missile attacks along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Punjab. Shelling across the Line of Control and the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, which had resumed following India’s diplomatic actions, also escalated.
India retaliated with a calibrated military campaign targeting key Pakistani military installations. These included airbases and facilities at Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sargodha, and Bholari. The Indian Air Force also struck radar stations near Lahore and Gujranwala in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Deep-strike operations were conducted against radar sites, command and control centers, and ammunition depots in Rafiqui, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, and Sialkot.
The armed forces, acting with full autonomy granted by Prime Minister Modi, described the strikes as an extension of Operation Sindoor.
On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that India and Pakistan had agreed to a ceasefire. Soon after, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed the development. However, the Indian government made no mention of U.S. involvement, stating that the ceasefire was reached after a senior Pakistani military official contacted India, leading to a discussion between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries.
India has made it clear that any future act of terror originating from Pakistan will be treated as an act of war, warranting a decisive and proportional response.
